Hydraulic automobile jack



April 16, 1935.

,1. RoMANo HYDRAULIC AUTOMOBILE JACK .Filed Feb. 16, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HUUR/Vfl" pril 165 1935.

J. ROMANO HYDRAULIC AUTOMOBILE JACK ,A

Filed Fb. 1 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. is, 193s UNITED s'iii'rizs'A HYDRAULIC AUTOMOBILE JACK Joseph Romano, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application February 16. 1934, Serial No. '111,502

. 1 claim. (crm-ss) The main object of this invention is the provision of a set of hydraulic jacks comprising individual jack members set one adjacent each of the four wheels ofan automobile and selectively 5 operable from within the car to jack upl any one of the wheels as desired.

Another object of the invention is the provision ot the hydraulic jacks as above-mentioned in a closed circulating system utilizing oil, the levers for operating the jacks being situated adjacent the driver of the vehicle. y

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a pair of telescopically extensible jacks united by a cross-member, at each of the wheels of the vehicle, so that a positive raising ot the wheels is at all times assured regardless of the nature of, or angle with the horizontal of, the road at that point.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the description below, in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in the drawings.

Referring briey to the drawings, Figure l is a schematic side elevational view, showing the jacking system applied to an automobile.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line l3--3 of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross-sec 4 4 of Figure 2. v

Figure 5 isa cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6--6 o! Figure 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral I represents the chassis of an automobile having the dash board l I. At each of the four wheels of the vehicle, a jack unit is mounted, comprising a. pair ci' identical housings I2 rigidly vconnected by tie-beams I3. A hollow-stem piston I4 is slidably mouted in-each housing I2, and in the stem oi each piston I4 a piston I5 is slidably mounted, the latter providing the column extending to the base of each unit. At their lower extremities, these columns I are rigidly united by a cross-beam I6 which strikes the road when the jacks are operated to raise the vehicle. Suitable packing and other construction necessary to make the jack units leak-proof, are of course included in their design. The tops II of the housings I2 are provided with ports into which branches from the feed pipe I3 are conducted. An arm I3 is pivoted to one end of the cross-beam AI 6 and at the other is linked to the chassis, a coiled tional view taken on line lspring 20 normally tending to raise thejack end 'of the arm. y

Mounted in front of rthe dash board Vis an oil storage tank 2l, and adjacent the latter 'is a distributor tank 22. The latter comprises a housing provided-with six aligned openings at the top normally closed by caps 23. Directly beneath each opening 23, cylindrical bores 24 are provided. In each bore 24 a valve 25 is slidably mounted, the stems of the valves protruding below the housing 10 22, their extremities being provided with springs normally forcing them down, that is, into closed position. Thesevalve stems are indicated, reading from left to right, Figure 3, by the reference numerals 25a, 25h, 25e, 25d, 25e, and 25,f. A port is provided in each bore 24 leading through the housing wall, and a pipe leads from each port on the outside of the housing. 'Ihese pipes are indicated by the numbers 26, 21, 28, 29, and 3|, and for `convenience the corresponding port of each pipe isnumbered 26a, 21a, 28a, 29a, 30a, and 3io., respectively. The pipe 28 leads to theV top of the storage tank 2 I, and from the bottom of the latter a vpipe 32 leads to the. pump 33. 'I'hrough the pipe 32, which is provided with a one-way flow valve 34, oil passes into the pump 33. The oil passes from the pump through the pipe 3l into the tank 22 through the port 3Ia. From-each of the valve stems 25, excepting the end one. 251, key levers 34 extend through the dash board II into the drivers compartment, the levers`34 being pivoted in the dash board. Each lever has a button on its end, each bearing proper markings or insignia to indicate which of the four wheels it controls. By depressing any one of these keys, which are numbered 26h, 2lb, 28h, 29h, and 30h, to correspond with the valves which they control, the valve stem connected to that key will be raised, thus opening that valve in the compartment of the tank 22. The' pipe 28 also contains a one-way iiow valve. o The pump 33 comprises a housing having a piston 35 vertically slidable therein in a bore 36. An obstruction 31 is provided about midway in the bore in order to narrow the latter at that point. A second bore 33 'intersects the bore 36 through the narrowed portion. 'Ihe lower end of the bore 36 is closed by a cap 39 having a ball 4I projected by a spring 40 normally against the lower end of the narrowed'bore 36. Similarly, a cap 42 closes the bore 33, and is provided with a bali 43 projected by a spring 44 to normally close the other end. of the bore 38. The pump inlet pipe 3,2 is connected to the ball end of the bore as (being normally closed by the bau 43), 55

and the pump outlet pipe 3| is connected to an extension 45 leading into the bore 36. .A lever 4B is pivoted to the top of the piston 35, and isl operable by a pedal 41 to work the pump in a manner which is obvious. It is to be noted that oil pumped through the pipe 3| enters the tank 22 through the port 3|a, the pressure of th pumped oil causing the valve 25j to rise.

The operation ot the device is as follows. A ssuming that it is desired to raise the right rear wheel, the key 30h is depressed, raising valve 25e in tank 22. The pedal 41 is then worked down and up to pump oil from the tank'2l into the tank 22. The oil leaves the pump through pipe 3|, forces the valve 25f up; and passes into' the compartment 48 oi' the tank 22. Since all the other valves 25 are closed, the oil will pass from the compartment 48 into the bore' of valve 25e,

through the port 30a, through pipe 30, into pipe Isa, and down into the right rear jack unit |2, forcing the jack to extend and raise the car. It

is to be noted that all of the pipes I8 leading from the jacks are connected to the pipes leading from the tank 22 through iiexible couplings 49. When 48 through pipe 28 into tank 2|. The weight o1' the cark at rst, and then the spring 20, will force the Jack to contract and torce the oil back along pipe Ita-30 into tank 22 (the pressure of the oil causing the valve 25e to open to permit this passage). When the jack has been retracted fully, key 2lb is released, and the device vis restored to its original, inactive position.

In the illustration, the wheel axles have been shown mounted on the upper tie-beams I3 of the jack units, but obviously they might be otherwise mounted thereon. Also, obvious modillcations in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In an automobile jack system comprising a plurality of hydraulic Jack units mounted one adjacent each wheel,l and 'a iluid tank and a pump adapted to force iluid into said jack units, jack units comprising a pair of spaced-apart vertical cylinders having pistons slidable therein adapted to be extended upon the ow of tluid into said cylinders,. a rigid tie-beam joining said cylinders, 

